Help with building a new system

[ST0RMY]

Hey fellas,

I figured it's time to upgrade my computer and what better place to get advice than from our knowledgeable members. I'm looking to build an adequate system for around $1000. However, for the time being I am mostly interested in acquiring a decent motherboard, processor (or combo processor/mobo) ram, and a solid state drive. My plan is to cannibalize my current system's additional hard drives, case, graphics card, and power supply for the time being thus allowing me to spend less than $1000 and letting me use the rest of the funds later on on a better graphics card etc. As far as parts go, I am not particular on brands with the exception of having an Intel chip set (no AMD for me).

I've been out of the computer hardware loop for a while and I welcome any and all help you are looking to offer. My goal is to be able to play Arma 3, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Borderlands 2 when they are released. I am trying to keep costs down but I would like to use Newegg as a primary source for parts because of eGO's renewed alliance with them.

Current system specs:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 6700 @ 2.66 Ghz
Windows 7 32 bit
Ram: 4GB (3GB used w/32 bit)
Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTS 450


To reiterate:

I am looking to buy:

Motherboard
Processor (Intel)
Solid State Drive
Ram



Thank you in advance for your help! Please let me know if you require more information.

P.S. A generous amount of casino cash will be given to all who contribute.

 

[Timr]

Something like this or this? <--(Without the Windows 7 Home Premium disc)

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Well, those links contain extra components, are AMD based, and don't have an ssd.

Here is probably what you will be looking at:

Ivy bridge 3570k or sandy bridge 2500k

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504&Tpk=3570k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072&Tpk=2500k

Decent mid range mobo such as

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

Ram, 2 of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

SSD

There have been some stellar deals of late. My favorite have been the crucial m4 128gb for $100.

The Samsung 830 128gb has also been on sale for under $1/GB.

There is also the Intel lineup. The 520 180gb was going for $150 AR.

The big SSD companies have been dropping prices to knock out the lesser competition, so keep your eyes on the deal sites to find a good deal on one. Don't limit yourself to newegg though as you can save some nice money (though newegg has been offering some of the deals).

If you have a Microcenter near you, they often run deals on the intel cpus, so checking them out may be worthwhile. They have also had deals on mobo/cpu combos. And since you will get charged tax in Cali anyways by these sites, no real loss there.

 

[Muffs]

Subtotal: $1,041.92

 

[ST0RMY]

Thanks a lot so far guys.

Huckleberry, you hit the nail on the head. I think I'll have to pick your brain some more! What do you think of Muff's mobo/processor combo compared to the two you mentioned? Also, do those support PCI express? My current video card is PCIE but I'm not sure what other options there are as I plan to upgrade later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.908217

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Yes, PCIE is the current standard and all these motherboards support it. They actually come with multiple slots in case you ever get a second card to use in crossfire or sli.

As for the biostar mobo, seems like a good board as well. Not sure the asrock adds much for the added price, so the cheaper one is probably a good move for you. As for the cpu, the 3570k is one of the ones I recommended. It is the updated version to the 2500k which is why it is slightly more money. It has enhanced performance per thread as well as reduced power consumption. However, it does not overclock as well due to improper heat dissipation. But, if you do not plan to do a massive overclock anyways, this is not a huge deal. Either one is a good buy. While I hate the idea of recommending "old" tech, there really isn't a huge improvement with the 3570k over the 2500k. You get native pcie and usb 3.0 support, but that is not a huge deal (atm). Nothing can take advantage of it yet, and probably not for a good several years. Ivy bridge does have a much better integrated gpu than sandy, but it still doesn't compare to a discrete card. However, if you ever have a problem with your card, it would be a better holdover till you get the problem resolved.

In the end, either is a decent choice. I still say, if you have a Microcenter near you, take advantage of the awesome deals they have.

 

[pillar]

Hey Stormy, do you have the original Win OS package for your system or did it even come w/ the OS discs? If not, then I would highly suggest getting that Win7 Home Premium since itll come with both the 32-bit & 64-bit discs (my mom got that around Christmas time like 2 years ago @ the AFB she used to work for). I figured this might help ya.

 

[SkillNotRequired]

Not sure if many of you know of this site but i thought i'd post it.


http://us.ncix.com/ (US version)
http://www.ncix.com/ (Canada version)

a REALLY nice feature to use is the Price Matching system. (Ignore the Canada only price matching thing. I used it in the US fine)

It saved me a lot of money using that price matching and the site generally had cheaper prices. I highly recommend using it.


A nice trick you can do is find the item you want. Then type the model number in Google shopping then find the cheapest price you can from a decent looking site. Price Match the link to Ncix and normally if it's not too much of a price difference and follows the rules they should accept it. I got my gfx card $40 cheaper then newegg using ncix & price matching.


Try searching for some of the items you found on Newegg to see if they're cheaper on Ncix. Also, The processor you have in your cart is probably not the best way to go. You would probably be better off getting a i7 2600k cpu instead. Or the i5 2500k if you just do gaming. Plus it's cheaper.

P.S This site helps for picking a processor. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Yeah, no, do not use that site to pick your cpu. Use actual benchmarks. That site has the 8150 as better than a 3570k which is far from the truth. Use AnandTech and techpowerup and the such to see useful reviews of products.

 

[bullgodz]

Def recommend a i7 2600k. I love mine and can push it to the extreme's with the corsair h100. I would be able to push into the 5GHz range. but i got a bug somewhere in my system that starts getting finicky at around 4.9GHz. so i have it sitting at 4.6GHz currently.

 

[Muffs]

If you want to over clock get the i7 if you don't play on it then get the i5

 

[runo]

If you want to over clock get the i7 if you don't play on it then get the i5

Huh? He should be able to overclock just fine with either. It's the 'K' suffix (i.e. i5-2500K, or i7-2600K) that he'd need to watch out for if he intends to overclock.

 

[HeadShot]

bro, if you're a casual gamer, that hardware I sent you links on;

Intel i5 2500k

Asus p8p67 deluxe

Crucial m4, or intel 510

Rip Jaws X w/ 8-8-8-24 timing

and maybe a GTX 560 ti twin frozr. (overclock like a beast)

you're golden..

 

[Muffs]

Huh? He should be able to overclock just fine with either. It's the 'K' suffix (i.e. i5-2500K, or i7-2600K) that he'd need to watch out for if he intends to overclock.

I checked around and saw a lot of people suggesting that the i7 was able to over clock a lot better than that i5 can

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

No, they overclock very similarly. I assumed you were talking about ivy vs sandy since in the thread the i7 2600k and the i5 3570k had both been mentioned.

But yeah, I advise to stay away from the OCZ ssds. Some of them are fast, but they are the most unreliable. Crucial, Intel, and Samsung are the way to go and they have all had deals recently.

i5 2500k is good for gaming. 2600k is useful for like video editing or rendering as the hyperthreading can come into play. i5 3570k is still a good option if you are not looking for massive overclocks and can find a decent deal.

 

[ST0RMY]

Thanks everyone!

Huckleberry,

You're the man!

Hey Stormy, do you have the original Win OS package for your system or did it even come w/ the OS discs? If not, then I would highly suggest getting that Win7 Home Premium since itll come with both the 32-bit & 64-bit discs (my mom got that around Christmas time like 2 years ago @ the AFB she used to work for). I figured this might help ya.

Thanks Pillar. Right now I'm stalking a few of my friends who have install disks-- I have legitimate codes from my desktop and laptop. The only disk I have is an Alienware restore disk that says it has a copy of W7 64bit.. I'll have to give it a shot.

Not sure if many of you know of this site but i thought i'd post it.


http://us.ncix.com/ (US version)
http://www.ncix.com/ (Canada version)

a REALLY nice feature to use is the Price Matching system. (Ignore the Canada only price matching thing. I used it in the US fine)

It saved me a lot of money using that price matching and the site generally had cheaper prices. I highly recommend using it.


A nice trick you can do is find the item you want. Then type the model number in Google shopping then find the cheapest price you can from a decent looking site. Price Match the link to Ncix and normally if it's not too much of a price difference and follows the rules they should accept it. I got my gfx card $40 cheaper then newegg using ncix & price matching.


Try searching for some of the items you found on Newegg to see if they're cheaper on Ncix. Also, The processor you have in your cart is probably not the best way to go. You would probably be better off getting a i7 2600k cpu instead. Or the i5 2500k if you just do gaming. Plus it's cheaper.

P.S This site helps for picking a processor. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Thanks a bunch, I'll definitively take advantage of the price comparison site!

 

[Muffs]

No, they overclock very similarly. I assumed you were talking about ivy vs sandy since in the thread the i7 2600k and the i5 3570k had both been mentioned.

But yeah, I advise to stay away from the OCZ ssds. Some of them are fast, but they are the most unreliable. Crucial, Intel, and Samsung are the way to go and they have all had deals recently.

i5 2500k is good for gaming. 2600k is useful for like video editing or rendering as the hyperthreading can come into play. i5 3570k is still a good option if you are not looking for massive overclocks and can find a decent deal.

Yeah that's what I meant

 

[chili dude96]

Stormy if you have a microcenter nearby they beat all the intel processor prices I can find online by at least a good 30-50 bucks. Its where I buy my processors, its as cheap as they get. Also, what case and power supply do you currently have?

 

[Muffs]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2373004&sku=I69-3570K

Save $10

 

[mcxphoenix]

I don't know a lot about intelware, I'm a AMD guy, but I would recommend Corsair RAM and an ASUS ROG line motherboard... Got them in my gaming rig and they are excellent. If you can, make sure you get a motherboard with 6 GBps SATA data transfer speeds, and make sure your hard drive can also transfer at those speeds. With the RAM and motherboard, make sure both have dual channel support.